Effectiveness of salubrious nutri mix on level of haemoglobin among pre-menopausal women residing in selected areas of rural community.

Abstract

Anaemia is a condition when the haemoglobin concentration, or the quantity and size of red blood cells, are below predetermined cut-off values. As a result, the blood's ability to carry oxygen to the body is compromised. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), out of the South Asian countries prevalence of anaemia is highest in India. The prevalence of anaemia is alarmingly high in India due to low dietary intake of iron (less than 20 mg/day) and folic acid intake (less than 70 mg/day); poor bioavailability of iron (3-4%) in phytate and fibre-rich Indian diet; and chronic blood loss due to infection such as malaria and hookworm infestations.

METHDOLOGY  

The researcher used a quantitative research approach in the present study. The research design that is chosen for this study is a quasi-experimental non-equivalent control group design. The population was pre-menopausal women residing in selected areas of rural community. The sample consisted of 60 pre-menopausal women residing in a selected area of the rural community. The sampling technique used was the non-probability purposive sampling technique. The setting was a selected area of rural community. Digital Haemoglobinometer was the tool to assess the level of haemoglobin among pre- menopausal women.  The intervention given to the selected samples was a salubrious nutri mix.  In this study, Salubrious nutri mix is a mixture of 5 food items (peanut powder 40 grams, jaggery powder 35 grams, chana dal powder 25 grams, sesame seeds 3 – 4 seeds and ½ tablespoon of ghee) to prepare 100-gram laddu. The content validity of the tool was done and was found to be 0.97. The study was done for 27 days. Salubrious nutri mix was administered to the experimental group of 30 pre-menopausal women and was not administered to the control group of 30 pre-menopausal women. The post-test was collected on the 27th day.

Result

The analysis of the study was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. The master sheet was prepared and coding of the responses was done. The data was presented in the form of tables and charts. Statistics were performed with the help of paired t-tests, un-paired t-tests and chi-square tests.

The results indicate that the mean pre-test haemoglobin level was 10.33 g/dL (SD = 0.55), whereas the mean post-test haemoglobin level was 11.46 g/dL (SD = 0.59). The calculated t-value is 13.97, which is significantly higher than the table value (2.045 at p ≤ 0.05, DF = 29).

For the experimental group, the p-value (0.001) is less than 0.05, indicating a statistically significant improvement in haemoglobin levels after the intervention. This suggests that the intervention was effective in increasing haemoglobin levels among pre-menopausal women in the experimental group. The results indicate that the mean pre-test haemoglobin level was 10.26 g/dL (SD = 0.51), whereas the mean post-test haemoglobin level was 10.22 g/dL (SD = 0.53). The calculated t-value is -0.54, which is lower than the table value (2.045 at p ≤ 0.05, DF = 29).

For the control group, the p-value (0.591) is greater than 0.05, indicating that there is no statistically significant difference between pre-test and post-test haemoglobin levels in the control group. This suggests that there was no significant change in haemoglobin levels among premenopausal women who did not receive the intervention in control group.

The unpaired t-test was conducted to compare the post-test haemoglobin levels between pre-menopausal women in the experimental group and the control group.

The results indicate that the mean post-test haemoglobin level was 11.46 g/dL (SD = 0.59) in the experimental group and 10.22 g/dL (SD = 0.53) in the control group. The calculated t-value is 8.56, which is higher than the table value (2.001 at p ≤ 0.05, DF = 58).

The p-value (0.001) is less than 0.05, indicating a statistically significant difference between the post-test haemoglobin levels of the experimental and control groups. This suggests that the intervention had a significant positive effect on improving haemoglobin levels among pre-menopausal women in the experimental group.

The chi-square test results suggest that type of diet and education show a significant association with haemoglobin levels (p < 0.05). However, age, religion, monthly income, and occupation do not show a significant association with haemoglobin levels (p > 0.05).